Artist’s rendering of future Kolektif Arcadins development
What Is Kolektif Arcadins?
Kolektif Arcadins is a regional development initiative to create transformational change in the Arcadins coast region of Haiti. A partnership of ten international and local organizations is accompanying local government and civil society institutions to build viable communities where children and families can thrive.
our objectives
Kolektif Arcadins aims to:
Promote broad-based economic development through investment in agriculture, pisciculture, entrepreneurship and vocational training
Improve access to quality health care, especially maternal and women’s health,
Improve equitable access to quality education, and
Build cohesion among actors to support good governance and leadership.
Our Approach
Kolektif partners will support these goals by accompanying, strengthening or creating local institutions to drive and sustain the work.
Our approach prioritizes leadership and institution building, civic engagement and community mobilization. This path is slower but is the best way to achieve sustainability of what Kolektif supports.
These priorities are the output of an extensive community visioning process that engaged local officials, civil society organizations, private sector organization leaders, and ordinary citizens in the region to identify their priority needs and imagine the communities they want to develop.
Our Vision For Impact
Current Activities
HDI and our partners have laid the groundwork for a truly community-wide development effort.
HDI has acquired 40 acres just outside the city center of Arcahaie and will develop it as a civic hub and site for facilities to support regional development initiatives.
Kolektif partners are working in the community:
Delivering health care
Mobilizing citizens
Supporting youth leadership development
Supporting sports leagues and community activities
Grantmaking for community improvement projects
Strengthening community institutions through training
Providing arts and music education
Developing vocational skills
Building a community center (opening soon!) to offer enrichment education, internet access and after school activities.
Next Phase - Develop Kolektif’s Anchor Projects
Economic Development through Agricultural Sector Strengthening
A top priority of Arcadins residents is livelihoods development, and in a predominantly rural region, most people are engaged in agriculture. Agriculture has tremendous potential in the region, which produces mango, plantain, pigeon peas and more, but farmers need better access to equipment, soil testing and inputs like irrigation, better seeds and fertilizer. Farmers also need value chain services like transport, storage and value addition processing.
Artist’s Rendering of Model Farm and Agrifood Entrepreneurship Center.
Kolektif partners are:
working with farmers associations to conduct surveys and map the region’s agricultural land to document soil fertility and water access.
training extension agents to support farmers to increase production.
piloting a small enterprise incubator and accelerator to support development of key sector enterprises
planning a model farm and Agrifood Entrepreneurship Center to be built on the Kolektif site.
Health Provider Training
We are training nurse practitioners, midwives and community health workers as we develop plans to construct a healthcare facility on the site.
Education Sector Development
We have surveyed the area’s primary, secondary and vocational schools to understand existing assets and assess gaps. The quality of instruction is severely deficient from kindergarten to 6th grade. Our first intervention will focus on improving the quality of instruction.
Through partnerships with international and national universities and local school districts, we will:
train hundreds of in-service teachers,
provide continuing education support to teachers,
strengthen two Arcahaie-based teacher training schools, and
build the capacity of the education system to oversee and regulate teacher training and quality of education.
HDI’s Role
HDI is at the center of this effort, acting as “backbone” organization for the initiative. HDI is well-positioned to serve this role.
HDI works to build integrated communities where children and families can prosper. Kolektif leverages all three of HDI’s pillars – organizational leadership and institution building, grantmaking and civic leadership.
HDI has been headquartered in Arcahaie since 2018. We have built relations with local officials, partnered with town hall and other government offices, supported local organizations and consistently engaged and mobilized citizens.
As backbone organization, HDI will
Act as secretariat for the partnership
Lead program development and coordinate fundraising efforts
Lead monitoring, evaluation and results management
Steward the land and supervise construction and development of the site
If you are interested in investing, partnering or learning more, please contact Laurie Bennett, Kolektif Director, at lbennett@hdihaiti.org.
